EDITORIAL

PREPARING FOR THE CHALLENGES OF TOMORROW

The 19th century was a turning point in modern Danish history. Denmark suffered not only the loss of Norway to Sweden and a bit of Jutland to Germany, but also bankruptcy and famine struck the country. On top of that the navy and the merchant fleet were lost to England. Denmark was a beaten nation.

But foresighted politicians did not give up. Only a few years after the state went bankrupt the Danish government decided to massively develop the sole potential of the flat and mineral-lacking land: namely agriculture through research and development. So through the 19th century, three universities were established to restore the Danish nation through technology and science: the Technical University of Denmark (1829), the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University (1858) and the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences (1892).

These three universities formed the basis of the intensive research which has brought Denmark to having one of the world leading positions in life science. Today Denmark generates a quarter of its national GDP from the food industry and the Danish economy is highly based on innovation in the food, health and biotechnological industries. Thus, it is no coincidence that it is two Danish companies, namely Danisco and Novozymes, that hold more than 70 percent of the global market for industrial enzymes and at this very moment are competing for the future multibillion markets for second generation biofuels. Nor is it just a lucky punch that Denmark today possesses one of the most promising growth environments for upcoming biotechnological companies – it’s all due to the strategic planning of the nation’s development.

And today the goal is clear. Denmark aims to create Europe’s leading life science cluster, where a combination of state of the art universities, leading global industries and political incentives continue to foster innovative solutions to our common future needs. As a part of this strategy the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University merged in 2007 with the Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Copenhagen University thus creating Scandinavia’s largest university and the brand new Faculty for Life Sciences. And from the heart of Copenhagen the vision is to attract students and researchers from all over the world. Or as they say at the Faculty of Life Science: Bring your ideas to Life! You’re most welcome.

Enjoy the read.